The media's representation of the ideal male body: A cause for muscle dysmorphia?

TLDR

The study examined how media images influence men's attitudes toward their body appearance. College men were randomly assigned to view either muscular or neutral advertisements, then immediately completed a computerized body‑image perception test without knowledge of the study’s hypotheses. Exposure to muscular images produced a larger gap between participants’ perceived and ideal muscularity, indicating that brief media exposure can alter men’s body image perceptions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Int J Eat Disord 31:334–338.

Abstract

Abstract Objective This study sought to examine the effects of media images on men's attitudes toward their body appearance. Method A group of college men viewed advertisements showing muscular men, whereas a control group viewed neutral advertisements. Immediately thereafter, participants performed a computerized test of body image perception while unaware of the hypotheses being tested in the study. Results The students exposed to the muscular images showed a significantly greater discrepancy between their own perceived muscularity and the level of muscularity that they ideally wanted to have. Discussion These findings suggest that media images, even in a brief presentation, can affect men's views of their bodies. © 2002 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 31: 334–338, 2002; DOI 10.1002/eat.10019